Column of Honor: 11.23.08: Above and Beyond, or Level Best?

I’m back again on a Sunday, as I wanted to make sure I covered any breaking news from the PPV (such as title switch). I don’t expect the column to move to Sunday’s full time, as next week for sure I’ll be back on Saturday.

Rising Above and Beyond? How About Just Maintaining Level Best?

They needed to hit a home run after a seemingly average show in Dayton, Ohio and judging by results and early fan reviews it looks like they got one in Chicago, Illinois for their Rising Above 2008 Pay Per View tapings. ROH’s shows under new booker Adam Pearce have received lukewarm to okay reviews, with many fans stating they were giving the new era of ROH a chance but finding some of the newer booking decisions (such as DQs in World Title matches and much more run ins during matches than usual) tough to swallow. A disappointing night in Dayton that included a bait and switch in the scheduled main event title match and a no-contest in a lights out match (which by its very match definition would have seemed to have suggested a match type without DQs, but yet no one really knows as it has never been specified) got up a few jitters from the ROH diehards on their message board.

However, ROH tore it up in Chicago Ridge for one of its best attended live shows in sometime, featuring a title match, the end of a bitter rivalry between Austin Aries and Jimmy Jacobs, and the return of ROH legend Samoa Joe to face off against rising star Tyler Black. The latter match received the main event spot, with Joe going over Black in a near twenty minute match where both men going right at it. Joe won the match but Tyler was reported to look great, definitely confirming the star potential so many thought he had in the beginning of the year. Joe went over, but then he also returned the favor by putting over the hard work and effort of ROH and the boys in the back.

The last three matches seemed to have the old ROH flavor fans had been looking for, with wrestlers going at it tooth and nail, with drama and intrigue flowing in the ring action as well as the storylines that were the background to the matches. Even with two of the last three matches having run ins involved (and with the Aries vs. Jacobs match this was very understandable and expected), some of the extracurricular issues are still there, but at the least the efforts here is a sign that the ROH that fans have known for the last six years hasn’t completely died off.

Nigel McGuinness retained the ROH World Title over top challenger “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson in the main event of the PPV tapings. This was a rematch that had been building up for nine months, since their last title match at Sixth Anniversary Show in February. They had fought one time since then, at Battle of the Best in Tokyo Japan, where Danielson pinned McGuinness in a non-title match. However, this time around it was McGuinness with a pinfall over Danielson, the very first one McGuinness has over his long time rival of the last three years (he has a count out victory and a referee stoppage / KO to his credit).

The win on PPV is McGuinness’s sixth title defense on PPV and his thirty-first title defense overall in this title reign, making him the most successful defending champion in ROH history, beating Samoa Joe’s 29 title defenses (the number comes from counting Nigel’s title defenses in Europe, which ROH did not acknowledge in a recent newswire. They will likely sell that this title defense against Danielson was a record tying number). The win also almost guarantees that McGuinness will make it to at least fourteen months as champion, just one month shy of tying Bryan Danielson’s title run which is second in ROH history as far as duration. McGuinness could very well break Danielson’s number to throw salt in the wounds of this storied ROH rivalry, but he would still be a long ways off from tying or breaking Samoa Joe’s twenty-one month streak as champion.

McGuinness’s next challenger will be Jerry Lynn in Nashville Tennessee on December 6th. Naomichi Marufuji should also be in line for a title shot, as foreshadowed in the conclusion of the four way elimination title match in New York this past August.

Austin Aries and Jimmy Jacobs finished up their long feud in an “I Quit” match that Aries won thanks to the return of Lacey. In storylines Jimmy Jacobs had done something devious to her as a result of an attack outside of her gym. She had not been seen since in professional wrestling, and the word was that Lacey was getting out of the business to go back to school and continue her education. If just for this one time, Lacey came back to play a hand in dealing some retribution to her former paramour by helping provide moral support for Aries…and by hitting Jacobs with a well timed slap across the face for his past transgressions.

Lacey wasn’t the only return to ROH last night as Chicago’s own Ace Steel rejoined the ROH crew as a face, teaming up with Roderick Strong and Brent Albright to face Sweet & Sour Incorporated. The heel won that match and so the storyline goes that Steel Cage Warfare at Final Battle 2008 between the warring sides is still in doubt.

Also still in doubt for some fans is the potential direction of ROH in the future. There were and still are major worries from the fans that even aside from the move towards more “entertainment” based vigenettes (which have been for the most part focused on the undercard talent), that the in-ring quality had and will suffer due to the changes in booking direction. The Dayton, Ohio show was panned by the fans far greater than any of the Canada shows and any other show since Battle for Supremacy in Dayton, Ohio back in June. The common complaints were of too many run ins, a no contest / DQ finish in a match that many assumed was under a no DQ style stipulation (the lights out match between Roderick Strong and Chris Hero), and too many shorter matches (which has been one of the major goals of the new ROH all along).

While the DQs and shorter matches don’t bother me much, where ROH really needs to be concerned is in the title situation. The ROH World Title does have an esteemed reputation given how well it’s been treated in the promotion and how well respected the current title holder is usually treated on the independent wrestling scene both in America and abroad. After a DQ in the title match in Markham and a bait and switch in the Dayton show, with Nigel McGuinness going full out heel in a town where he had often played the babyface (even during his heel run this year), the treatment of the belt could be called into question. It is possible that holes could be made in the reputation of the belt if there are too many unclean finishes or general mistreatment of the title belt.

Generally I don’t like when an advertised title match is switched into a non-title match for no legitimate reason such as injury. Yes, Nigel McGuinness became even more of a heel when he refused to defend the belt and yes the non-title switch made the match less predictable (Nigel wasn’t going to lose just one night before the biggest defense of his reign on a PPV taping), but realistically ROH was taking away something promised to its audience and not replacing it with anything of equal or greater value (a constant in substitutions for professional wrestling and especially in ROH). Not to mention that if predictability was an issue, then ROH should never have advertised the title match to begin with. Yet in recent newswire promotions, ROH used the possibility of a title switch in Dayton affecting the entire future main event title situation for the next several shows. I definitely wouldn’t want to see an advertised world title match be pulled without legitimate reason when I attend shows here in New York, and while Dayton is no longer considered an “A” level venue, it’s no reason to advertise a title match (and an intriguing one at that) to the Dayton fans and then switch it day of. I really feel for the fans in Dayton because of this situation.

The Dayton, OH show may have been an isolated “bad” show, or perhaps a sign of things to come in ROH. Yet really, it’s still too early to fully discern where the new ROH is going, as most of the attention is still on wrapping up storylines from the year. The first few shows in 2009 should really be the true litmus test of where the new ROH is going to go and how the fans will approach it given that’s when new storylines and grudges will likely begin.

Also of note is that ROH began to implement production upgrades in taping their PPVs, with boom camera, ring mics and professional camera crews in placed and taping the show according to reports. This could be the beginning of a great improvement in the overall look and feel of the show, which is a definite step ROH had to take in order to draw new viewers in as well as look more “major league” compared to the big two of TNA and WWE.

ROH Results: November 21st in Dayton, OH

Matches

Pre-Show

-Alex “Sugarfoot” Payne & Ninja Blue defeated Richard Matthews & ???
-Bobby Dempsey defeated Ninja Yellow.

Main Show

-Brent Albright defeated Davey Richards.
-Go Shiozaki defeated Sami Callahan, Rhett Titus and Grizzly Redwood in a Four Corner Survival when Shiozaki pinned Callahan.
-Jay & Mark Briscoe defeated Irish Airborne of Jake & Dave Crist.
-Roderick Strong and Chris Hero fought to a No Contest in their Lights Out Match; Larry Sweeney and Sweet and Sour Inc. interfered to force the No Contest.
-ROH World Tag Team Champions Kevin Steen & El Generico retained their titles by defeated challengers The Age of the Fall of Jimmy Jacobs & Delirious after Rhett Titus interefers to distract Delirious and Steen and Generico take advantage.
-“American Dragon” Bryan Danielson defeated Claudio Castagnoli via pinfall with the small package.
-Austin Aries defeated Tyler Black and ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness in a non-title match when Aries pinned Black after a second rope brainbuster.

Issues and Angles

-Nigel came out, turned heel on his adopted U.S. hometown on Dayton, called the place a “shithole” and then stated he would not defend the ROH World Title against Aries and Black later on in the show.

-The Briscoes played up some heel work and a tougher attitude than even their normal tough demeanor. Unfortunately, Mark Briscoe may have injured himself again, this time his knee.

-Claudio Castagnoli once again attacked Bryan Danielson with a chair to continue their feud.

-Return Date: April 24th, 2009.

ROH Results: Rising Above 2008, November 22nd in Chicago Ridge, IL

Matches

Pre-Show

-The Phoenix Twins defeated Grizzly Redwood & Aaron Scott via pinfall with Oklahoma Roll into a German and double superkick.

Main Show

-ROH World Tag Team Champions Kevin Steen and El Generico retained their titles by defeating challengers Jay & Mark Briscoe via pinfall with a package piledriver.
-SHIMMER Champion MsChif retained her title by defeating challenger Sara Del Rey via pinfall with the Desecrator DDT.
-Delirious defeated “Addicted to Love” Rhett Titus via pinfall witha Shadows over Hell.
-Claudio Castagnoli defeated Sami Callahan, Silas Young and Alex Payne in a Four Corner Survival match via pinfal with a Ricolla Bomb on Payne

-Sweet & Sour Incorporated defeated Brent Albright, Roderick Strong & Ace Steel in a Six Man War when Richards pinned Strong after Hero hits Strong with a chair.
-Austin Aries (with Lacey) defeated Jimmy Jacobs (with Tyler Black) in an “I Quit” match when Aries placed Jacobs in a crossface and uses the spike repeatedly.
-ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness retained his title by defeating challenger “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson via pinfall with the Jawbreaker Lariat.
-Samoa Joe defeated Tyler Black in a non-PPV DVD bonus match via submission with the Kokina Clutch.

Angles and Issues

-The Briscoes start the PPV taping and demand a title match against Steen & Generico. They brawled after the match and it got very bloody. Grizzly Redwood was one of the wrestlers on hand to separate the teams.

– This is the first match The Briscoes have lost on Pay Per View.

-Delirious continued to wreck havoc on Delirious by destroying the Top of the Class Trophy on Titus and launching into a Panic Attack with the Trophy.

-Claudio tried to use the chair on Sugarfoot but Danielson ran out and took it away from him for the save and a huge “NEXT WORLD CHAMP” Chant. Danielson celebrates with Sugarfoot.

-Lacey was indeed Aries’ second in the I Quit match. She considered throwing in the towel for Aries but didn’t. She slapped Jacobs and later stopped Tyler Black from throwing in the towel for Jimmy so that Aries could inflict more punishment on Jacobs. After the match Jacobs left Tyler Black in the ring and walked backstage on his own.

-The world title match went almost thirty minutes and included Claudio Castagnoli running in to hit Danielson with a chair, but Danielson avoided the count out with help from Sugarfoot Alex Payne, who dragged him back into the ring.

-Joe thanked the crowd and ROH after the match.

-Return Date: January 31st 2009 for another PPV taping.

ROH Call

ROH Champions—As of 11/23/2008

ROH World Champion—Nigel McGuinness (champion since 10/06/07, 31 successful defenses)
–defeated Takeshi Morishima in Edison, New Jersey to win the championship.

Next Defense:vs. Jerry Lynn, Nashville, TN, 12/06/08

V.1 defeated Jay Briscoe, wristlock submission (10/21/07 San Francisco, CA)
V.2 defeated Chris Hero, wristlock submission (11/02/07 Philadelphia, PA)
V.3 defeated Austin Aries, Jawbreaker Lariat (12/29/07 Manhattan, NY)
V.4 defeated Go Shiozaki, London Dungeon (wristlock submission) (01/20/08 Tokyo, Japan,)
V.5 Steel Cage Match: defeated Chris Hero (01/25/08, Dayton, OH)
V.6 defeated Roderick Strong, Jawbreaker Lariat (01/26/08, Chicago Ridge, IL)
V.7 defeated Bryan Danielson, London Dungeon (02/23/08, Manhattan, NY)
V.8 defeated Tyler Black, London Dungeon (03/16/08, Philadelphia, PA)
V.9 defeated Larry Sweeney, Jawbreaker Lariat (03/22/08 Crystal River, FL)
V.10 defeated Austin Aries, Jawbreaker Lariat (03/29/08 Orlando, FL)
V.11 defeated Erick Stevens, London Dungeon (04/11/08 Boston, MA)
V.12 defeated Kevin Steen, roll up holding the ropes (04/12/08 Edison, NJ)
V.13 defeated Kevin Steen, Jawbreaker Lariat (04/19/08 Chicago Ridge, IL)
V.14 defeated Claudio Castagnoli, London Dungeon, (05/10/08, Manhattan, NY)
V.15 defeated KENTA and BJ Whitmer, Jawbreaker Lariat to Whitmer (05/15/08, Tokyo, Japan)
V.16 defeated Go Shiozaki, London Dungeon (06/07/08, Philadelphia, PA)
V.17 defeated Vic Viper, London Dungeon (06/14/08, Tallaght, Ireland)
V.19 defeated Keith Myatt and Lionheart, (06/20/08, Doncaster, U.K.)
V.20 (title for title) defeated NWA Champion Adam Pearce, Jawbreaker Lariat (06/27/08, Dayton, OH)
*match later reversed via DQ, both men keep their respective titles.
V.21 defeated Kevin Steen, Lariat off Turbuckle, (07/25/08, Toronto, ONT, CN)
V.22 defeated Claudio Castagnoli, Jawbreaker Lariat (07/26/08, Detroit, MI)
V.23 defeated Ruckus, London Dungeon (08/01/08, Manassas, VA)
V.24 Four Way Elimination Match: defeated Bryan Danielson, Tyler Black & Claudio Castagnoli (08/02/08, Manhattan, NY)
V.25 defeated El Generico, London Dungeon (08/15/08, Cleveland, OH )
V.26 defeated Jimmy Jacobs, Jawbreaker Lariat (09/14/08, Tokyo, Japan)
V.27 defeated Roderick Strong, (09/19/08, Boston, MA)
V.28 defeated El Generico, roll up, (09/20/08, Philadelphia, PA)
V.29 Four Way Elimination Match: defeated Go Shiozaki, El Generico & Kevin Steen (11/07/08, Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
V.30 lost via disqualification to Necro Butcher (11/08/08, Markham, Ontario, Canada) Champion retains on a DQ.
V.31 defeated Bryan Danielson, Jawbreaker Lariat (11/22/08, Chicago Ridge, IL)

**

ROH World Tag Team Champions—Kevin Steen & El Generico (champions since 09/19/08, 3 successful defenses)
–defeated The Age of the Fall of Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black on September 19th, 2008 in Boston, MA to win the championship.

Next Defense: TBA

V.1 defeated Jay & Mark Briscoe (11/08/08, Markham, Ontario, Canada)
V.2 defeated Jimmy Jacobs & Delirious (11/21/08. Dayton, OH)
V.3 defeated Jay & Mark Briscoe (11/22/08, Chicago Ridge, IL)

**

NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion: Blue Demon Jr. (since 10/25/2008)
-defeated Adam Pearce via submission with a half crab to win the title.
FIP Heavyweight Champion: Go Shiozaki (since 08/23/2008)
-defeated Erick Stevens via pinfall with help from the Heartbreak Enterprises to win the title.
SHIMMER Champion: MsChif (since 4/26/2008)
-defeated Sara Del Ray via pinfall with the Descrator DDT to win the title
Top of the Class Trophy (for ROH Students): Rhett “Addicted to Love” Titus (since 06/07/2008)
-defeated Ernie Osiris via pinfall to win the trophy.
Sweet & Sour Incorporated Presents The Intergender Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Of The World—Chris Hero & Sara Del Rey (since 01/12/08)

**

Top Feuds & Pairings:

-Bryan Danielson vs. Claudio Castagnoli
-Dissension between Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black
-Brent Albright, Roderick Strong & Erick Stevens vs. Sweet & Sour Inc.
-Delirious as a part of Age of The Fall
-Jerry Lynn runs the contention ladder to an ROH World Title shot
–Danielson vs. Morishima concludes

ROH News
(via the ROHnewswire… and other sources when attributed)

Major News

ROH Signs Deal with Direct TV for PPV, On Demand Service
Ring of Honor announced a deal with Direct TV that will continue their expansion of Pay Per View programming into approximately 17.3 million U.S. households. The deal also calls for the creation of an ROH Classics “on demand” service channel, where ten hours of ROH matches and video will be available per month, likely on a subscription basis.

DirectTV was one of the major television outlets missing from the initial trio of InDemand, TVN and DISH network (as well as Canadian services Bell Express Vu and Viewer’s Choice). The deal was made after a year and a half of Pay Per View programming on these affiliates and the presentation of nine two-hour shows featuring the ROH wrestlers and their in-ring style.

This is the first major deal to add programming and to extend the ROH brand since the removal of Gabe Sapolsky as booker in place of Adam Pearce. Since then, rumors of a possible TV deal with a cable network such as Fuse or G4 have been circulating the internet. While this is not a new show being added to a cable network, it’s nonetheless an important move that shows ROH’s continued interest in expanding their presence in the market.

ROH wrestling programming is now available in over 80 million U.S. households. Of course finding the consumers who are interested in purchasing the product out of those millions of viewers has been the main issue in increasing ROH brand awareness. ROH Pay Per View numbers have never been officially released, but there have been consistent reports that the buy numbers are about what was expected for the product. It could have been that consistency in purchases or the willingness of ROH to upgrade its PPV presentation that sealed the deal for adding on DirectTV as one of its broadcast partners.

What I find even more remarkable than the PPV deal is the on-demand service deal. Aside from WWE, I don’t think any other wrestling company offers an on-demand service package. I don’t even think TNA does that. Giving fans a choice of ten hours of footage per month is a great call, especially considering there is a plethora of tremendous matches and moments from the 200 plus DVD catalogue of shows to pull from. You can mix in old and new, wrestlers who are currently in WWE or TNA and matches from newer wrestlers who fans would be seeing if they went to the live shows.

However, it should be considered that some of the classic footage, especially from 2004 and before-hand, is of suspect quality in video production (much more so than today’s ROH DVD footage). As well a good chunk of great material has been already exposed to the public through the KOCH retail releases. I wonder if we’ll be getting more than a large chunk of repeat material from those DVDs, which have matches that have surely been remastered in video quality and feature updated commentary from Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard.

Above all else, ROH and its fans shouldn’t get too excited just yet about this deal. Because, as I’ve often pointed out in this column, the deal itself is irrelevant to the amount and effectiveness of the advertisement that follows it. If ROH has this service and no wrestling fans on Direct TV find out about it, then it’s the proverbial tree falling in the forest. It won’t do any good just to have ROH available on Direct TV, both ROH and Direct TV are going to have to do their best to get the word out that these programs are available. The one major criticism I’ve constantly written about concerning ROH aside from certain audio and video upgrades is the lack of effective advertising of the product. It’s been the bane of ROH’s existence that it can’t get the word out well enough to the larger wrestling community about the content and availability of its PPV and DVD. The press release from ROH and G-Funk suggests a national advertising campaign will follow this deal, so hopefully we’ll see just that, but also advertising used in the right timeframe and the right channels (i.e. wrestling and fighting programming as well as on channels that appeal to the male 18-34 demographic).

ROH Begins DVD Subscription Service
Along with the Direct TV deal came news that Ring of Honor would begin to offer subscription packages of their DVDs. You can buy six DVDs for $119.95, ten DVDs for $189.95 and twenty DVDs for $339.95. The DVD’s under this package, regularly priced at $20 a piece would cost a consumer $120.00, $200.00 and $400.00. Of course, that does not take into account that ROH frequently (in fact every week now) runs sales, including varying percentages off and buy 3, get 1 free.

The major advantages of this new subscription service would be the savings from shipping prices—which are included in the fee. U.S. priority shipping is going to be applied here, which means no alteration from previous waiting times on orders. International customers benefit greatly because they’ll pay the subscription fee and not the shipping fees of $7 for the first item and $2 for each additional item. The shipping fees per order rack up if you order as each DVD (or sometimes two at a time) is released. This service would save you on that cost. Of note is that you don’t get much of a discount with the lowest order of DVDs you can get at one time, but if you get the next step up you save about 10% off the regular price and at the twenty DVD level you save about 15% off the regular price (all before adding in what you save from shipping).

The enticement is to prepay up front for your DVD’s and therefore get the DVDs as they come in. PPVs will also be a part of this offer, but you won’t get the shows on DVD any faster than normal (you’ll still have to wait the month after the PPV airs to receive it). The benefit of this service is the sort of “set it and forget it” mentality—you can order once instead of multiple times and you don’t have to worry at all about placing an order each and every time out.

The negative of course, is that fans who select this package can no longer pick and choose which DVDs they want and don’t want. If there is a show that is not well received by fans in attendance and the reviews on the net and you don’t particularly want to watch it—well you’re out of luck because you’re going to receive it anyway. This presents a bit of a problem at this time because ROH is going through one of its biggest—if not the biggest—transition phase ever. The whole style of product as far as in ring presentation is changing—shorter match times, more “unclean” finishes that haven’t been the norm in the previous era.

Some fans have been very accepting of these changes and others…not so much. As seen in postings at the ROH message board, some fans are feeling that the new shows under Adam Pearce have been disappointing them in terms of what they have come to expect from ROH. That means longer match times, more clean finishes and a fast paced, fiercer in ring effort from the wrestlers. Will the shows be worth purchasing on DVD if these qualities which have been signature to ROH for the last six years become less frequent? If the answer to that question is no, then fans will not buy six DVDs in advance without fully knowing what’s going to happen and the quality of the shows.

The idea of a subscription service in some form has been frequently suggested by fans on the message board and it seems that ROH is going to give the fans what they have wanted for so long. The question is, will people buy into the service now, or was this the wrong timing for ROH?

Update on Paul London
A few reports surfaced last week about the possible future exploits of one Paul London. One report had it that Paul London would not be taking any wrestling bookings and that he would be moving on from the world of professional wrestling and headed towards a new career path. He had been taking acting lessons while in WWE in order to improve his character but now it seemed as if London was going to try to get some roles in Hollywood, either as an actor or in stuntwork. This would have been a crushing blow to many ROH and independent fans and just appreciators of Paul London who would have wanted to see him resurface somewhere after his time in WWE. Later in the week came the report that London had set up an email account for future bookings in the world of professional wrestling, with the addy PLfutureendeavors (pretty catchy, no?). I hope ROH still has that email addy handy and is using it. Either way, London is still under the 90 day no compete clause, so he if he wants to continue on in the world of professional wrestling, he won’t be showing up anywhere before that time is up.

Ring of Honor to use World League Wrestling Talent in St. Louis
ROH officials are happy to announce that in suburban St. Louis on 12/5, we will welcome competitors from Harley Race’s World League Wrestling! We’ll have names and match announcements soon here in the Newswire!

ROH has a long standing relationship with Harley Race and the WLW promotion. Race is the connection that has provided a lot of the NOAH talent coming to ROH for shows. Race was actually in attendance at Glory By Honor VI Night 2 and funnily enough he sat right next to me at the Tick Tock Diner as he ate dinner before the show.

Match Additions and Subtractions

Sasaki and Nakajima vs. ROH
Word has come from our contacts in Japan that Kensuke Sasaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima have issued open challenges for during Final Battle weekend. Sasaki and Nakajima will team in both Philadelphia and New York, wanting to take on ROH’s “toughest fighters”. The ROH booking committee has a short list of teams to fill these slots, but is having an admittedly hard time choosing. More on this as it develops.

You would think that the short list is pretty much The Briscoes, Steenerico and Age of the Fall. Danielson & Aries is not likely as Aries is already committed to a match in Philadelphia and Danielson is committed to fight Takeshi Morishima in NYC.

St. Louis, MO 12/05/08
Nigel McGuinness & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Bryan Danielson & ????: A huge tag team main event challenge has been issued for 12/5 in St. Louis! Nigel McGuinness has taken yet another chance to dig at Bryan Danielson. “After I beat that clamdigger in Chicago, the perfect icing on that cake of humility would be for me to do it one more time. Of course, I won’t be giving him anymore title shots after Chicago, so I should think a tag team match is in the proper order. And with all of the anger that Dragon has built up towards Claudio Castagnoli up to now, I couldn’t think of a better partner. Now all Dragon has to do is commit himself to another beating, and choose a partner of his own, that is if he has the stones to do either.” We hope to have a response from Danielson as soon as possible.

Well, before the PPV tapings I would have said Danielson & Aries would be the lock, but this new deal with Alex Payne may change that up a bit. Although adding Payne onto the team would make Danielson a major underdog for that match.

Nashville, TN 12/06/08
Four Corner Survival: Serena Deeb vs. SHIMMER Champion MsChif vs. Sara Del Rey vs. Daizee Haze: The most recent SHIMMER tapings saw Serena Deeb rise to main event status in a series of matches against Sara Del Rey. As an added bonus for ROH’s debut event in Nashville, we are proud to deliver Women of Honor to compete in a Four Corner Survival matchup! This non-title affair will see Serena mix it up once again with Death Rey, as they also battle a very determined Daizee Haze, as well as “Your Soul’s Tormentor,” the SHIMMER Champion, MsChif!

Philadelphia, PA 12/26/08
Bryan Danielson vs. Jerry Lynn: A dream match has been signed for 12/26 in Philadelphia! “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson will oppose the ageless Jerry Lynn in a match with several intriguing title possibilities! If Dragon becomes a 2-Time ROH Champion this weekend, this match could conceivable end up for the World Title! If Nigel should retain this weekend, but lose to Lynn in Nashville on 12/6, then likewise the title could be on the line.

Austin Aries vs. Naomichi Marufuji: Just in case you missed the article on the main page, signed for Philadelphia on December 26 is a first-time-ever dream match! Austin Aries will oppose Naomichi Marufuji!

I like both matches, as they present the possibility for great in-ring action. Danielson vs. Lynn in particular is intriguing because both men can really go at it in chain wrestling sequences, and those are some of my favorite parts of wrestling matches.

Character Developments

Grizzly Redwood was recently seen sparring with Bushwhacker Luke Williams.

No doubt he was learning the secrets of bushwhacking so that he could apply it to the trees in his Redwood Forest.

ROH officials have finally spoken to the Necro Butcher. In a correspondence received within the last 36 hours, Necro confirmed he is still convalescing and doing what he can to heal his injured knee as fast as possible. In what was perceived as a bit of posturing, he refused to give any insight into just how bad the knee is or what the specific injury is. He was, however, willing to confirm that he will be in St. Louis on 12/5 and Nashville on 12/6. “Revenge will be mine,” said the Butcher. “I told everyone I’d pile the bodies to the sky, but it looks like I could use a little help. Maybe from someone just as crazy as me.”

Could we see the debut of Toby Klein or Madman Pondo? Or maybe Drake Younger? Perhaps as all are three men who are known for taking some very hard knocks and have a “different” sort of mentality. Personally I think he’s actually referring to his grandma Gladys. Yep, ole Gladys Butcher, she’s a tough cookie. She’ll put those whippersnappers in their place, Senior Citizen style.

…Rumor has it that ROH officials tried to address the vicious attacks recently of Brent Albright and Erick Stevens by Sweet-n-Sour personnel, only to have Sweeney hang up the phone. ROH officials are incensed at the continual interference in matches by Sweeney’s men and attacks outside of the ring. More on this as it develops.

Kayfabe Quote of the Week: “I refuse to answer such a ludicrous challenge,” said Sweeney. “Why would I put my men, the finest men money can buy, in harms way against Neanderthals like Albright, Stevens, and Rodney Strong? I am not a stupid man.” –Larry Sweeny, regarding Steel Cage Warfare at Final Battle 2008. The next line should have been “but I know what love is.”

ROH Home Theatre Station

Videowire: November 18th, 2008

GRIZZLY REDWOOD!

RHETT TITUS GOES TOO FAR! (Viewer Discretion is advised)

Trailer for The Wrestler

1. Chris Jericho : The heels reign supreme this week on my fave five with WWE’s top two guys you love to hate on my list. Jericho, as he has been for the last six months or so, has been golden on promos and fantastic to watch when he wrestles. He has his finger on the pulse of what makes the fans hate him and he pushes that to his every advantage. His promo on Cena this past Monday was so hate-inducing that I think Cena has a great chance of being the total babyface in his hometown as opposed to having a large section of the crowd boo him. The one thing I didn’t love about the Jericho promo was that he said that Jericho had “never conquered” him, but they have even recently been showing the video from 2005 of Cena defeating Jericho at Summerslam and then the next night on Raw in what became at the time Jericho’s last match in WWE. Then again, any good heel should tell a mix of lies in with his version of the truth…
2. Randy Orton: As a fan of CM Punk, I should be upset at the (relatively clean)loss this past Monday to Randy Orton (and I am), but I just can’t help but like the “Legend Killer” these days. He has found his groove again and has been awesome since coming back from his collarbone injury. He has played the tweener role fantastically, being booed when he is up against a pure hearted face, but fans (including myself) love to see him put down Cody Rhodes and Manu. This Randy Orton is the wrestler everyone thought he could become way back when everyone was hyping him up as destined for greatness.
3. Grizzly Redwood: As you readers all have seen by now if you clicked on the video above, this week my entertainment was derived from watching the Gizzly Redwood video…over and over again. I think I emailed and instant messaged about five people as soon as I finished watching it the first time, I was that jazzed up about this vignette. While I think doing these type of comic packages for main eventers would pose a problem, it’s a great idea to get over the students and newer wrestlers by giving the opportunity for the former Mitch Franklin and Rhett Titus a go with it through these means. Redwood taking forever to chop down a small tree, eating flapjacks (ain’t nothing wrong with that!) all while lumberjack music plays in the background…I was dying of laughter. This is easily one of the best of these kinds of vignettes that ROH has done.
4. Shawn Michaels and John Morrison: If HBK is slowly winding down his career (and it sure seems like he doesn’t have much more than a few years left), then a career-elevation of Morrison may be one of the best gifts Michaels could possibly give to WWE on his way out. Morrison superkicked Michaels for the pin last Monday and it was a perfectly timed moment and looked fantastic in its execution. If these two get involved in a longer term program somewhere down the line, we could be in for quite the treat.
5. Romeo Roselli: I know, you’re either thinking “who?” or “wait a minute… the guy who used to be one of the Heartbreakers on WWE?” The answer would be yes to that question. Roselli gave an interview to Figure 4 Weekly last week that I listened to and thoroughly enjoyed. Romeo actually worked behind the scenes of WWE before giving the in-ring work a serious go of it, and listening to him describe his career, his time in OVW and in Italy was very interesting material.

Chikara vs. Ring of Honor BEST OF SEVEN SERIES Round 7!

It’s the final countdown! For six weeks now the very best of CHIKARA and the very best of Ring of Honor have collided in this fantasy dream match series. It’s the passion and persistence of one fantastic independent wrestling promotion against the style and the substance of another. Last week, the trio of Kevin Steen, El Generico and Roderick Strong rumbled past the team of The Osirian Portal and Eddie Kingston. It all led to this, an eliminator in round six pitting CHIKARA’s leading man against ROH’s World Champion of more than a year and the man of the company. CHIKARA needed to tie and ROH needed this round for the win in the series. Did ROH take it in six? Or did CHIKARA pull it out and move on to the tiebreaker seventh match? We’ll get the results in a moment.

The best part of this series is that THE READERS DECIDE WHO WINS. That’s right, be sure to vote at the bottom of the page in the comments section or send me an email me with your vote about who you think would win each fantasy match. I’ll post results in the following week’s column.

It was the pure of heart and master of professional wrestling technique Mike Quackenbush matched up against the self professed “best wrestler in the world” (although that kind of sounds familiar…he must have gotten it from the back of a cereal box)Nigel McGuinness. This match has main event written all over it and would surely be a master class in what to do right to excite a crowd and get them into the action. Yet only one man can reign supreme in this fight that is one fall to a finish. What did the fans write about this one-on-one showdown?

Matt: I have to go with Quack. Nigel’s great, and the match is amazing, but I think Quack’s versatility and experience could take him past Nigel.

Kevin F.: Quack however, he has that passion, fire, and remorse for anybody who steps in his path. Not to mention, some of the holds he can throw on you put anybody’s favorite submission hold TO SHAME.

ausjimmyr: as a self-confessed ROHbot, even I have to give this one to Quack Lightning ftw!

mensh: In the spirit of last night’s UFC fight I gotta choose size. Nigel wins

Guest#2141 (Guest) : This is tough but I have to go with Nigel. He’s already put down some great talent. He’ll also cheat if he has to so Nigel would steal it from Quack.

Whoblehwah: I gotta go with Nigel. Nigel’s been on a role this year. Even though Quack posesses better technical skill than Nigel (HE’S THE MAN OF 1000 HOLDS FOR CHRIST SAKE!), Nigel has the size and power advantage. Also, he’s not afraid to bend the rules.

Last Rider: Damn you for making me choose between 2 of my favorite wrestlers!
I’ll go with Quack in this one. He’s smart enough to not put himself into many bad situations, and the style that Nigel uses is nothing new for Quack, he wrestled Johnny Saint in England not that long ago. The size difference isn’t a big deal, Quack has had success against larger opponents numerous times, including Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli, both of whom are similar in size to Nigel; in the case of Claudio even similar in styles. The other reason is passion. When Quack is motivated to win he’s almost impossible to beat. Take CZW best of the best 5 (I think 5 at least)or the 2007 Ted Petty Invitational. He’s still the only guy to survive the Omega Driver as far as I know. In a match like this, with the series on the line, Quack would find a way to win.

Quack had the early lead in the fan voting, but then Nigel pulled far head due to fans who believed he would dominate the match. Some said it was a close call but gave the edge to the ROH World champion. Finally quack tried to make a stunning comeback, gaining more voters towards the end of the voting period, but it was just a hair too little too late. By a difference of just ONE vote, your winner is Nigel McGuinness! It was as close as you can get this round without winning.

Mike Quackenbush would surely electrify the crowd in the beginning of the match with his fantastic array of lucha dodges and engagements. He would frustrate Nigel early and perhaps even gain the advantage on the ground with some submission moves. Nigel would powder out to regain composure, but Quackenbush would follow him out there too, perhaps with a fantastic tope con hilo. Nigel would be running for cover, and with his back against the wall resort to cheating his way to an advantage. A timely low blow or trip would start his comeback. He would press the advantage by disregarding the ref count, claiming he had until five, or distracting the ref while doing more villainy. Finally Quackenbush would have enough, his incredulousness building up until he could take no more indignity. Quack would fire back with his favorite moves, palm strikes and running closeline / bulldog combinations. He would go for the BTS and hit it for a close two count. He would try for the Quackendriver, only for Nigel to back out of the move, take Quack down and go for the London Dungeon. Quack would reach the ropes but Nigel would press on. Quack could take one or two finisher style lariats and kick out, then go for a running palm strike. He could hit the Quackdriver III but Nigel would be right by the ropes, barely conscious enough to put his feet up there and save his ass from losing. Quack would go for the lightening lock, but NIgel would find the ability to maneuver into the London Dungeon. From there Quack would push off Nigel, unfortunately right into the referee, who would go down and out. Nigel would push forward into Quack, who would prop him right into the CHIKARA Special! Unfortunately with the ref out of it, he wouldn’t be able to see Nigel tapping away due to the pain caused by this nigh unbreakable move. Quack would release the hold to check on the referee, and while his back was turning, Nigel would hit him right in the head with a lariat from behind. Quack would be scrambling back up to his feet, unable to see NIgel rebounding off the ropes with a Jawbreaker Lariat. Quack would run right into it, and from there the pinfall count of three would be administered by a revived referee. Nigel McGuinness would have won the match, although some fans would have said he really just “escaped” from it.

With the win, Ring of Honor now has four wins to CHIKARA’s two, so the winner of the series is RING OF HONOR! It was a close race for many of the matches and the fans gave a ton of credit to CHIKARA for the effort of the wrestlers and the abilities of even the younger talents to bring it in the ring. However, ROH had not only the bigger names on the independent scene, but also more championship-calibre wrestlers who have a deadly array of offense and are very tough to beat when the chips are down. CHIKARA’s wrestlers had moxie and fire and gave a good challenge, but ultimately the current ROH roster prevails. Although on a note of moral victory it should be noted that CHIKARA talent such as Brodie Lee, The Osirian Portal and even Vin Gerard have been brought in for ROH appearances during the time we have been following this reader-voted series.

Here’s the final scoreboard for this series:

2 4

The Series-at-a-Glance:
Rnd 1: The Colony defeat The Vulture Squad (unanimous decision) CHIK 1 ROH 0
Rnd 2: The Age of the Fall defeat The UnStable (unanimous decision) CHIK 1 ROH 1
Rnd 3: Brodie Lee defeats Necro Butcher (split decision) CHIK 2 ROH 1
Rnd 4: Team ROH defeat F.I.S.T. & Castagnoli (majority decision) CHIK 2 ROH 2
Rnd 5: Steenerico & Roderick Strong defeat Osirian Portal & Eddie Kingston (majority decision) CHIK 2 ROH 3
Rnd 6: Nigel McGuinness defeats “Lightning” Mike Quackenbush (split decision) CHIK 2 ROH 4

Well then, Ring of Honor is the winner… BUT! We’re not quite done with this special dream match series. As a special bonus, here are some extra CHIKARA vs. ROH matches that I was considering putting up for vote as a part of this series. Who would YOU pick in the following matches? Let your voice be heard in the comments section!

CHIKARA vs. ROH “Trapped in a Closet” DARK MATCH SPECIALS!

Hydra vs. Brent Albright in a “Hydraulic Challenge”: Could the “man-monster” Hydra apply the vicious and merciless Hydra Lock submission on Brent Albright? Or would Albright make Hydra BOTH get out AND tap out at the same time?

The Fabulous Two of Shayne “Buck” Hawke & “Marvelous” Mitch Ryder (CHIKARA) vs. “Sweet & Sour” Larry Sweeney & Bobby Dempsey (ROH): Sweeney has taken more than his fair share of verbal and physical abuse from his former tag partners in CHIKARA. Could he even the score as a technico (babyface) by teaming up with the “Dreaded” yet uber-popular Bobby Dempsey?

The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple of Ultramantis Black & Crossbones vs. Sweet & Sour Incorporated of Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards: The dastardly Ultramantis Black and his rather rotund pal would be faced with the remorseless Davey Richards and the silent but deadly (in that he kills the crowd when he wrestles and makes them silent) Eddie Edwards. Its rudo vs. rudo here but the advantage may go to the Order since Ultramantis deals in Black Magick!

Torneo Cibernetico: Jimmy “Equinox” Olsen, Tim Donst, Lince Dorado, Helios, Hallowicked, Steve “The Turtle” Winer, Cheech & Cloudy (CHIKARA) vs. Chris Hero, Adam Pearce, Go Shiozaki, Jerry Lynn, Erick Stevens, Kenny King, Rhett Titus & Grizzly Redwood (ROH) : This would have been the big finale had CHIKARA made it to the seventh round. The Cibernetico match has become an annual tradition in CHIKARA, an eight-on-eight (at least) elimination match. When one side is completely eliminated the match continues with the winning side fighting it out until there is only one winner, one sole survivor. CHIKARA’s team represents an incredibly unified front of technicos and is talented enough that each man adds on something unique to the match. It also demonstrates the versatility of CHIKARA’s mid card wrestlers. Oh and there’s Steve Winer thrown in there to do his “turtle power” comedy…and to be fed to the lions on the other side of the ring, naturally. Meanwhile, Ring of Honor’s side is rudo (heel) heavy, with the interesting twist of adding Lynn and Stevens (babyfaces at this time in ROH) in the mix. Would they be able to put aside their differences with Sweet & Sour Incorporated members Hero, Pearce (its true he’s not in ROH right now, but it’s a fantasy match, so I’ll allow it!) and Shiozaki? Could they stomach taking orders from team captain Chris Hero or would the tension blow up in everyone’s face? OR maybe, if ROH won, they would be left over to fight amongst themselves. However, the CHIKARA wrestlers no doubt would have the advantage of experience in such a match, with their own team captain Jimmy Olsen just having won the Cibernetico two weeks ago. It would have been a very interesting scenario to see happen…who would you have voted for? Comment below with your votes and send in those emails and we’ll find out…next week!

Thanks to all the readers who participated in this special series! I had a great time writing it and maybe we’ll do it again sometime, either with ROH vs. CHIKARA II or ROH vs. another independent promotion.

Honorarium

-Ring of Honor is going to begin a new supplement business. It’s going to be called ICROHPRO.

-Gabe Sapolsky posted up his thoughts on his time in ROH and the decision to fire him from booking position. I have to give credit to Gabe for being honest enough to look “outside the bubble” as he puts it and acknowledge some of the criticisms levied against him. I also have to credit him for being very classy about the whole situation and not ranting or raving in the least about how he was fired. His blog is set up and running and I’ll check up on it from time to time to see if he’s writing any cool memoirs of his time booking ROH.

-New Music recommendations: Paramore–The Final Riot! DVD, Ani Difranco–“Red Letter Year”, Mute Math (self titled)

ROH @ 411

Buying and Selling McGuinness vs. Danielson, Austin vs. Jacobs and more ROH goodness.

If you want to see how right or wrong we were in our picks for this weekend, check out the 411 ROH Round Table.

Alex Mattis covers Danielson vs. Hero in this week’s Best of the Rest.

Chris Lansdell adds in his own comments on ROH’s new PPV deals in this week’s Sunday Brunch.

Larry Csonka’s 4R’s of Driven.

Honor Bound Links

Against the Grain

Not an Evolution Schematic

Truth B Told

Shining a Spotlight

Ask 411

That’s going to cover it this week. Next time around, I have to think about if we’re going to get back to some regular features like the ROH stock market report and Black T-Shirt squad or if I should begin the second annual “classic promos” month in the column. Oh and lest I refrain from saying it, the Final Column ’08 countdown is now ON and is at FIVE WEEKS and counting…

Thanks for reading! Brooklyn! MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT!
–Ari–